Complaints about Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and others up 35 percent in Q4

Complaints lodged against major telco providers including Telstra, Optus and Vodafone increased to 8.7 complaints per 10,000 services in the final quarter of 2017, up 35 percent from the same period in 2016.

Recent data from the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman, which tracks complaints per 10,000 user services across participating service providers Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, Amaysim and Pivotel found that Optus copped the brunt of user grievances of the group between October and December 2017, at 10.6 complaints per 10,000 services.

Telstra followed close behind at 9.2, with Vodafone and Amaysim trailing at 4.9 and 1.4 complaints per 10,000 services, respectively. Pivotel was untarnished during the period with a complaint ratio of 0.

The data, compiled into a brief report by Australian telco advocacy group Communications Alliance, showed complaints against Optus steadily increasing over the past five quarters, with complaints increasing each quarter since the October-December period in 2016, when 6.7 complaints per 10,000 services were recorded.

Complaints per 10,000 Optus services overtook Telstra during the April-June 2017 period, recording 10 and 10.1 complaint ratio scores, respectively. The two rivals were neck and neck at 9.3 between January and March.

Telstra and Optus are more likely to face customer ire than others because they each provide mobile, internet and landline services, while Vodafone and Amaysim provide only mobile and internet services. Pivotel offers mobile services only.

Communications Alliance chief executive John Stanton said the figures demonstrated ongoing challenges for the telco sector.

“Industry will continue developing and implementing initiatives to improve the customer experience, and is coordinating with the ACMA on their recently announced measures to improve the nbn consumer experience,” he said.

The Communications Alliance’s compiles its Complaints in Context report from voluntarily participating service providers, based on data from the TIO.

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